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The J.B.'s

December 02, 2023

This article is about the James Brown band. For other uses, see JB's (disambiguation).

The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., Fred Wesley and the New JBs, The First Family, and The Last Word.[1] In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, and performed and recorded as a self-contained group. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[2] but failed to be inducted and can be considered for Musical Excellence in the future. They have been eligible since 1995.

The J.B.'s
Fred Wesley & the new JB's in 2016
Background information
Also known asThe New Dapps, Fred Wesley and the J.B.'s, Fred and the New J.B.'s, The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., The First Family, The Last Word[1]
OriginCincinnati, Ohio, United States
GenresFunk, soul, R&B
Years active1970–2006
LabelsKing, Polydor, People

Career edit

The "original" J.B.'s edit

The J.B.'s were formed in March 1970 after most of the members of Brown's previous band walked out on him over a pay dispute. (Brown's previous bands of the 1950s and 1960s had been known as The James Brown Band and The James Brown Orchestra.) The J.B.'s initial lineup included bassist William "Bootsy" Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps "Catfish" Collins, formerly of the obscure funk band The Pacemakers; Bobby Byrd (founder of the original Famous Flames singing group) (organ), and John "Jabo" Starks (drums), both holdovers from Brown's 1960s band; three inexperienced horn players, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison, and Robert McCollough; and conga player Johnny Griggs. This version of the J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Super Bad", "Soul Power", and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing". They also accompanied Brown on a European tour (during which they recorded the long-delayed live album Love Power Peace), performed on the Sex Machine double LP, and released two instrumental singles, the much-sampled "The Grunt" and "These Are the J.B.'s".

Later configurations edit

In December 1970, trombonist Fred Wesley rejoined James Brown's organization to lead the J.B.'s. Other former Brown sidemen, including Maceo Parker and St. Clair Pinckney, eventually followed his lead, while the Collins brothers and most of the rest of the "original" J.B.'s left Brown to join George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Wesley and Parker left in 1975. Brown continued to bill his backing band as the J.B.'s into the mid-1980s, when he changed their name to the Soul Generals, or Soul G's.

Recordings edit

In addition to backing Brown on stage and on record during this era, the J.B.'s also recorded albums and singles on their own, sometimes with Brown performing on organ or synthesizer. Their albums were generally a mixture of heavy funk tracks and some more jazz-oriented pieces. Nearly all of the J.B.'s recordings were produced by Brown, and most were released on his own label, People Records. The band scored a number of chart hits in the early 1970s, including "Pass the Peas", "Gimme Some More", and the #1 R&B hit, "Doing It to Death". Credited to "Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s", "Doing It to Death" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in July 1973.[3]

Some of the J.B.'s releases have unusual characteristics. The 1974 album Breakin' Bread is unique in that most of the songs have a Fred Wesley spoken reminiscence dubbed onto the beginning of the song, each time over a canned backing track. It is in sharp contrast to James Brown's real-time dominance of the proceedings on the classic Doing It to Death LP. A similar oddity is encountered on the other 1974 album, Damn Right I Am Somebody, where 20-second extensions of that album's track-2 jam (each including James Brown's trademark shriek) have been spliced onto the beginnings of most of the other songs. Under the name A.A.B.B., the group released a single, "Pick up the Pieces One by One", which reached #108 on the U.S. chart in 1975.[4] Both the song and the name—which stood for "Above Average Black Band"—were a tribute to and tongue-in-cheek reply to the then-popular Scottish funk group the Average White Band (also known as AWB) and its #1 hit single "Pick Up the Pieces".[4] The J.B.'s final single for Brown's People label, 1976's "Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time", features a rare hornless arrangement.

As funk music gave way in popularity to disco in the 1970s, the group's material and arrangements changed accordingly, but their chart success declined along with Brown's own.

Like most of James Brown's music, the recorded output of the J.B.'s has been heavily mined for samples by hip hop DJs and record producers.

The JB Horns edit

During the 1980s and 1990s, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley intermittently toured under the name The JB Horns, sometimes with other former Brown sidemen such as Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. The JB Horns recorded several albums for the Gramavision label, which were later reissued by Rhino Records. They also recorded an album under this name with producer Richard Mazda called I Like It Like That.

The JB Horns are also associated with The Horny Horns, staple members of P-Funk and Bootsy's Rubber Band, which was led by Fred Wesley and included Maceo, as well as Rick Gardner and Richard "Kush" Griffith on trumpets.

Reunion edit

A version of the J.B.'s including Fred Wesley, Bootsy Collins, Pee Wee Ellis, Bobby Byrd, and Clyde Stubblefield assembled to record the 1999 "reunion" album Bring the Funk on Down, dedicated to the memory of St. Clair Pinckney. The album was released in Japan by P-Vine Records, and in 2002 it was reissued in the U.S. by Instinct Records.

A reunion of the original J.B.'s rhythm section, with Bootsy and Phelps Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, and Jabo Starks, and supplemented by Bernie Worrell, recorded the Superbad movie soundtrack. They went on to perform the first tribute concert remembering James Brown.

Discography edit

Albums edit

  • These Are The JB's (1970 – released in 2014)[5]
  • Food For Thought (1972)
  • Doing It to Death (1973)
  • Damn Right I Am Somebody (1974) – as "Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s"
  • Breakin' Bread (1974) – as "Fred & the New J.B.'s"
  • Hustle with Speed (1975)
  • Jam II Disco Fever (1978)
  • Groove Machine (1979)
  • Bring the Funk On Down (1999)
  • The Lost Album (2011) – credited to "The J.B.'s with Fred Wesley"

as The JB Horns edit

  • Pee Wee, Fred and Maceo (1989)
  • Funky Good Time / Live (1993)
  • I Like It Like That (1994)
  • Blue Moon Rising, Walter “Wolfman” Washington (feat. JB Horns) (1995)

Singles edit

  • 1970
    • "The Grunt, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
    • "These Are the J.B.'s, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
  • 1971
  • 1972
  • 1973
  • 1974
    • "Damn Right I Am Somebody, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
    • "Rockin' Funky Watergate, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
    • "Little Boy Black" / "Rockin' Funky Watergate"
    • "Breakin' Bread" / "Funky Music is My Style"
  • 1975
    • "Makin' Love" / "Rice 'n' Ribs"
    • "(It's Not the Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
    • "Thank You for Lettin' Me Be Myself and You Be Yours Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
    • "C.O.L.D." (A.A.B.B.)
  • 1976
    • "All Aboard The Soul Funky Train" / "Thank You for Lettin'... Pt 1"
    • "Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time, Pt 1" / "Pt 2"
  • 1977
    • "Music For The People" / "Crossover" – as the J.B.'s International
    • "Nature, Pt 1" / "Pt 2" – as the J.B.'s International
  • 1978
    • "Disco Fever, Pt 1" / "Pt 2" – as the J.B.'s International

CD compilations edit

  • Funky Good Time: The Anthology (2 CD) (1995)
  • Food for Funk (1997)
  • Pass the Peas: The Best of the J.B.'s (2000)


Members through the years as (THE JB's , THE JB's international and The Soul Generals) edit

Fred Wesley (1970–1975, 1983)
Maceo Parker (1964-1969, 1973–1975, 1984–1988)
Jimmy Nolen (1965-1969, 1972–1983)
Fred Thomas (1971–1975, 1980-1983, 1993–2006)
John "Jabo" Starks (1966–1975)
Clyde Stubblefield (1966-1970)
Bootsy Collins (1970–1971)
Phelps Collins (1970–1971)
Johnny Griggs (1970–1981)
Sweet Charles Sherrell (1969-1979, 1983-1997)
Hearlon "Cheese" Martin (1970–1975)
St. Clair Pinckney (1962–1999)
Darryl "Hassan" Jamison (1970–1971, 1972–1975)
Jerone "Jassan" Sanford (1971–1975, 1978–1983)
Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells (1970–1971)
Robert "Chopper" McCollough (1970)
Jimmy Parker (1971–1975)
Ike Oakley (1972–1974)
Russel Crimes (1971–1978)
Robert Lee Coleman (1971, 1976)
Bobby Roach (1970–1972)
John Morgan (1971–1975)
Hollie Farris (1976–2006)
Joe Poff (1976-1981, 1986, 1991)
Melvin Parker (1964-1969, 1976-1977)
Tyrone Jefferson (1976–1980,1984, 1991-2006)
Tony Cook (1976–1993, 2005–2006)
David Weston (1976–1982)
Keith Jenkins (1994-2006)
Jeff Watkins (1994-2006)
Arthur Dickson (1978– 1998)
Ron Laster (1978–2006)
Robert "Mousey" Thompson (1993–2006)
Aaron Purdie (197?–198?)
Erik Hargrove (1998-2005)
Jerry Pondixter (1978-1983, 1992-2005)
George "spike" Nealy (1991-2006)
Ray bund? (1998-2006)
Damon Wood (1999-2006)
Robert "The plaster"(2006)
Jimmy Lee Moore (1984-2001)
Joe Collier (1981-2000)
Larry moore (1984-1992)
Todd owns(1992-2001)
Leroy Harper Jr(1991-1993, 1997-2006)
Sir Waldow weathers (1993-2006)
George 'Haji Ahkba' Dickerson (1984-1988)
Tony Jones (1985-1988, 1994, 1997-2001)
J? Jackson (1991-1994)
Darryl Brown (1999-2006)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "The J.B.'s : Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  2. ^ France, Lisa Respers (8 October 2015). "Janet Jackson, N.W.A, Los Lobos among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  3. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 338. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. ^ a b Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-2008. Record Research, 2009, p. 19.
  5. ^ "Rappcats » THESE ARE THE JB'S – Previously unheard album by James Brown's backing band led by Bootsy Collins". Rappcats.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.

External links edit

  • Allmusic page on the J.B.'s

December 02, 2023
this, article, about, james, brown, band, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, source. This article is about the James Brown band For other uses see JB s disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The J B s news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The J B s sometimes punctuated The JB s or The J B s was James Brown s band from 1970 through the early 1980s On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs The James Brown Soul Train Maceo and the Macks A A B B Fred Wesley and the New JBs The First Family and The Last Word 1 In addition to backing Brown the J B s played behind Bobby Byrd Lyn Collins and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue and performed and recorded as a self contained group In 2015 they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2 but failed to be inducted and can be considered for Musical Excellence in the future They have been eligible since 1995 The J B sFred Wesley amp the new JB s in 2016Background informationAlso known asThe New Dapps Fred Wesley and the J B s Fred and the New J B s The James Brown Soul Train Maceo and the Macks A A B B The First Family The Last Word 1 OriginCincinnati Ohio United StatesGenresFunk soul R amp BYears active1970 2006LabelsKing Polydor People Contents 1 Career 1 1 The original J B s 1 2 Later configurations 1 3 Recordings 1 4 The JB Horns 1 5 Reunion 2 Discography 2 1 Albums 2 1 1 as The JB Horns 2 2 Singles 2 3 CD compilations 3 Members through the years as THE JB s THE JB s international and The Soul Generals 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCareer editThe original J B s edit The J B s were formed in March 1970 after most of the members of Brown s previous band walked out on him over a pay dispute Brown s previous bands of the 1950s and 1960s had been known as The James Brown Band and The James Brown Orchestra The J B s initial lineup included bassist William Bootsy Collins and his brother guitarist Phelps Catfish Collins formerly of the obscure funk band The Pacemakers Bobby Byrd founder of the original Famous Flames singing group organ and John Jabo Starks drums both holdovers from Brown s 1960s band three inexperienced horn players Clayton Chicken Gunnells Darryl Hasaan Jamison and Robert McCollough and conga player Johnny Griggs This version of the J B s played on some of Brown s most intense funk recordings including Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine Super Bad Soul Power and Talkin Loud and Sayin Nothing They also accompanied Brown on a European tour during which they recorded the long delayed live album Love Power Peace performed on the Sex Machine double LP and released two instrumental singles the much sampled The Grunt and These Are the J B s Later configurations edit In December 1970 trombonist Fred Wesley rejoined James Brown s organization to lead the J B s Other former Brown sidemen including Maceo Parker and St Clair Pinckney eventually followed his lead while the Collins brothers and most of the rest of the original J B s left Brown to join George Clinton s Parliament Funkadelic collective Wesley and Parker left in 1975 Brown continued to bill his backing band as the J B s into the mid 1980s when he changed their name to the Soul Generals or Soul G s Recordings edit In addition to backing Brown on stage and on record during this era the J B s also recorded albums and singles on their own sometimes with Brown performing on organ or synthesizer Their albums were generally a mixture of heavy funk tracks and some more jazz oriented pieces Nearly all of the J B s recordings were produced by Brown and most were released on his own label People Records The band scored a number of chart hits in the early 1970s including Pass the Peas Gimme Some More and the 1 R amp B hit Doing It to Death Credited to Fred Wesley amp the J B s Doing It to Death sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in July 1973 3 Some of the J B s releases have unusual characteristics The 1974 album Breakin Bread is unique in that most of the songs have a Fred Wesley spoken reminiscence dubbed onto the beginning of the song each time over a canned backing track It is in sharp contrast to James Brown s real time dominance of the proceedings on the classic Doing It to Death LP A similar oddity is encountered on the other 1974 album Damn Right I Am Somebody where 20 second extensions of that album s track 2 jam each including James Brown s trademark shriek have been spliced onto the beginnings of most of the other songs Under the name A A B B the group released a single Pick up the Pieces One by One which reached 108 on the U S chart in 1975 4 Both the song and the name which stood for Above Average Black Band were a tribute to and tongue in cheek reply to the then popular Scottish funk group the Average White Band also known as AWB and its 1 hit single Pick Up the Pieces 4 The J B s final single for Brown s People label 1976 s Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time features a rare hornless arrangement As funk music gave way in popularity to disco in the 1970s the group s material and arrangements changed accordingly but their chart success declined along with Brown s own Like most of James Brown s music the recorded output of the J B s has been heavily mined for samples by hip hop DJs and record producers The JB Horns edit During the 1980s and 1990s Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley intermittently toured under the name The JB Horns sometimes with other former Brown sidemen such as Alfred Pee Wee Ellis The JB Horns recorded several albums for the Gramavision label which were later reissued by Rhino Records They also recorded an album under this name with producer Richard Mazda called I Like It Like That The JB Horns are also associated with The Horny Horns staple members of P Funk and Bootsy s Rubber Band which was led by Fred Wesley and included Maceo as well as Rick Gardner and Richard Kush Griffith on trumpets Reunion edit A version of the J B s including Fred Wesley Bootsy Collins Pee Wee Ellis Bobby Byrd and Clyde Stubblefield assembled to record the 1999 reunion album Bring the Funk on Down dedicated to the memory of St Clair Pinckney The album was released in Japan by P Vine Records and in 2002 it was reissued in the U S by Instinct Records A reunion of the original J B s rhythm section with Bootsy and Phelps Collins Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks and supplemented by Bernie Worrell recorded the Superbad movie soundtrack They went on to perform the first tribute concert remembering James Brown Discography editAlbums edit These Are The JB s 1970 released in 2014 5 Food For Thought 1972 Doing It to Death 1973 Damn Right I Am Somebody 1974 as Fred Wesley amp the J B s Breakin Bread 1974 as Fred amp the New J B s Hustle with Speed 1975 Jam II Disco Fever 1978 Groove Machine 1979 Bring the Funk On Down 1999 The Lost Album 2011 credited to The J B s with Fred Wesley as The JB Horns edit Pee Wee Fred and Maceo 1989 Funky Good Time Live 1993 I Like It Like That 1994 Blue Moon Rising Walter Wolfman Washington feat JB Horns 1995 Singles edit 1970 The Grunt Pt 1 Pt 2 These Are the J B s Pt 1 Pt 2 1971 My Brother Pt 1 Pt 2 Gimme Some More The Rabbit Got The Gun 1972 Pass the Peas Hot Pants Road Givin Up Food For Funk Pt 1 Pt 2 Back Stabbers J B Shout 1973 Watermelon Man Alone Again Naturally Sportin Life Dirty Harri Doing It to Death Everybody Got Soul You Can Have Watergate If You Don t Get It The First Time Same Beat Pt 1 Pt 2 1974 Damn Right I Am Somebody Pt 1 Pt 2 Rockin Funky Watergate Pt 1 Pt 2 Little Boy Black Rockin Funky Watergate Breakin Bread Funky Music is My Style 1975 Makin Love Rice n Ribs It s Not the Express It s the J B s Monaurail Pt 1 Pt 2 Thank You for Lettin Me Be Myself and You Be Yours Pt 1 Pt 2 C O L D A A B B 1976 All Aboard The Soul Funky Train Thank You for Lettin Pt 1 Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time Pt 1 Pt 2 1977 Music For The People Crossover as the J B s International Nature Pt 1 Pt 2 as the J B s International 1978 Disco Fever Pt 1 Pt 2 as the J B s InternationalCD compilations edit Funky Good Time The Anthology 2 CD 1995 Food for Funk 1997 Pass the Peas The Best of the J B s 2000 Members through the years as THE JB s THE JB s international and The Soul Generals editFred Wesley 1970 1975 1983 Maceo Parker 1964 1969 1973 1975 1984 1988 Jimmy Nolen 1965 1969 1972 1983 Fred Thomas 1971 1975 1980 1983 1993 2006 John Jabo Starks 1966 1975 Clyde Stubblefield 1966 1970 Bootsy Collins 1970 1971 Phelps Collins 1970 1971 Johnny Griggs 1970 1981 Sweet Charles Sherrell 1969 1979 1983 1997 Hearlon Cheese Martin 1970 1975 St Clair Pinckney 1962 1999 Darryl Hassan Jamison 1970 1971 1972 1975 Jerone Jassan Sanford 1971 1975 1978 1983 Clayton Chicken Gunnells 1970 1971 Robert Chopper McCollough 1970 Jimmy Parker 1971 1975 Ike Oakley 1972 1974 Russel Crimes 1971 1978 Robert Lee Coleman 1971 1976 Bobby Roach 1970 1972 John Morgan 1971 1975 Hollie Farris 1976 2006 Joe Poff 1976 1981 1986 1991 Melvin Parker 1964 1969 1976 1977 Tyrone Jefferson 1976 1980 1984 1991 2006 Tony Cook 1976 1993 2005 2006 David Weston 1976 1982 Keith Jenkins 1994 2006 Jeff Watkins 1994 2006 Arthur Dickson 1978 1998 Ron Laster 1978 2006 Robert Mousey Thompson 1993 2006 Aaron Purdie 197 198 Erik Hargrove 1998 2005 Jerry Pondixter 1978 1983 1992 2005 George spike Nealy 1991 2006 Ray bund 1998 2006 Damon Wood 1999 2006 Robert The plaster 2006 Jimmy Lee Moore 1984 2001 Joe Collier 1981 2000 Larry moore 1984 1992 Todd owns 1992 2001 Leroy Harper Jr 1991 1993 1997 2006 Sir Waldow weathers 1993 2006 George Haji Ahkba Dickerson 1984 1988 Tony Jones 1985 1988 1994 1997 2001 J Jackson 1991 1994 Darryl Brown 1999 2006 See also editAbnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra Booker T amp the M G s Compass Point All Stars The Funk Brothers Hi Rhythm Section The Love Unlimited Orchestra The Memphis Boys MFSB Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section The Nashville A Team Salsoul Orchestra The Section Tower of Power Horn Section The Wrecking CrewReferences edit a b The J B s Biography Albums Streaming Links AllMusic Retrieved January 19 2020 France Lisa Respers 8 October 2015 Janet Jackson N W A Los Lobos among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees CNN Retrieved 11 October 2015 Murrells Joseph 1978 The Book of Golden Discs 2nd ed London Barrie and Jenkins Ltd p 338 ISBN 0 214 20512 6 a b Joel Whitburn Top Pop Singles 1955 2008 Record Research 2009 p 19 Rappcats THESE ARE THE JB S Previously unheard album by James Brown s backing band led by Bootsy Collins Rappcats com Retrieved 27 October 2017 External links editAllmusic page on the J B s Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The J B 27s amp oldid 1187947036, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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